For triceps growth
For triceps growth, bar pushdown rates higher on our research criteria: easier to progress, more of the work on the triceps.
Dumbbell skull crusher gives more stretch.
Both are good choices that train the triceps the same way, so they swap freely. Rotating between them every few weeks is an easy way to vary your training.
The research score comes from these, scored by hand from the studies. Lifter scores appear once an exercise has 10 ratings. How scores work
Bar Pushdown. Heavy and simple, but with the arms at your sides the long head never gets stretched.
Dumbbell Skull Crusher. Dumbbells let each arm find a comfortable path with a decent long-head stretch. Awkward to load heavy.
For triceps growth, bar pushdown rates higher on our research criteria: easier to progress, more of the work on the triceps. Dumbbell skull crusher gives more stretch. Both are good choices that train the triceps the same way, so they swap freely. Rotating between them every few weeks is an easy way to vary your training.
About the same: both are easy to learn.
Bar pushdown needs a cable station, so for most people it’s a gym exercise. Dumbbell skull crusher needs dumbbells and a bench, so a home gym covers it.
About the same: both rate Strong for joint and recovery cost in our research rubric.